Big Centre TV

Big Centre TV is a local television station in the United Kingdom, serving Birmingham, the Black Country, Wolverhampton, Solihull and Walsall. The station was launched at 6pm on 28 February 2015 on Freeview Channel 8, and is owned and operated by Kaleidoscope TV Limited in partnership with the BBC and Walsall Studio School, where the channel's headquarters are based.

Overview

Kaleidoscope, a Midlands-based voluntary organisation specialising in television history, were granted a licence to establish a local television station in November 2014, following the collapse of City8, a proposed station centred on the Birmingham area, which went into administration after failing to secure sufficient funding.^[1] Kaleidoscope were given ten minutes notice that their bid had been successful before an official announcement was made by the regulatory body Ofcom.^[2]

The new license, initially known as Kaleidoscope TV, was given an Ofcom deadline of Saturday 28 February 2015 to launch.^[3] Big Centre TV is jointly run by Kaleidoscope owner Chris Perry and former ATV announcer and television executive Mike Prince, the station's director of programming who was previously involved with the aborted City8 license.^[4]

Big Centre TV's studios at the Goldmine Centre in Walsall are shared with the town's studio school, where students are able to gain work experience with the channel as part of their studies.^[5]

Launch

The station launched at 6pm on Saturday 28 February 2015, preceded by a testcard and music, ending with the Electric Light Orchestra's "Mr. Blue Sky". Opening night programming included an hour-long introduction to the channel, a special edition of the station's news programme The Midland, a 1981 episode of Crossroads and coverage of an ice hockey league match.^[2][6] These were aired alongside two of the station's feature programmes, Life Stories and Project M.^[7]

The first news bulletin attracted criticism from Birmingham Mail TV critic Roz Laws, who noted that many of the reports concerned stories from several days before the channel's launch.^[2] The news bulletin was also beset by technical problems, with poor sound quality and an out-of-focus studio camera. The Black Country-based Express & Star observed that the launch programme had been "more corporate video than glitz and glamour" consisting of the channel's executives "sitting in front of their computers and discussing a business plan before the station was blessed by a clergyman".^[8] However, responding to the criticism, channel director Chris Perry argued that Big Centre TV's teething problems were similar to those experienced by the larger channels, and urged viewers to stay with the station.^[8]

Programming

Big Centre TV is required to produce at least 41 hours a week of first-run local programming, including news, sport, features, entertainment and children's output.^[9]

The station's regional news service, The Midland, airs four times a day - including a 90-minute breakfast show at 8am, an hour-long midday programme and half-hour bulletins at 5.30pm and 9.30pm.^[10] Sports coverage includes extended highlights of bowls and wrestling alongside a daily chat show entitled Extra Time.^[10][11] The station's head of news is former ITV Central journalist Bob Hall, who features as one of The Midland's anchors, alongside senior producer Jennifer Meierhans with Marverine Cole as a features reporter.^[11]

Feature programming includes The David Hamilton Show, Cuppa TV, Brummywood Yammywood, Land Rover Live and Life Stories, alongside bespoke children's shows such as The Bostin' Bear Club, Our House and The 8 Team.^[12] Big Centre TV's music output includes the new music showcase Soundcheck, Caribbean family show WASSIFA and the Asian programme Music Box. A short religious epilogue, Reflections, airs at the end of transmission on weekdays, as part of the feedback show Postbag.

Alongside both in-house and independent productions, Big Centre TV also carries some programming from other local television stations around the UK. The channel also has access to an extensive archive of programming, including the children's television series Ivor the Engine, Jack Hargreaves' rural documentary series Out of Town, and the surviving episodes of Midlands-based soap opera Crossroads.^[10][11]

However, as the channel went on air, plans to repeat Crossroads were at the centre of a disagreement over the amount of royalties to be paid to its former actors. One of the programme's stars, Paul Henry (who played Benny Hawkins) threatened to take legal action over the issue.^[13] On 30 March 2015, the Birmingham Mail reported that after the BBC sacked presenter Jeremy Clarkson from its motoring show Top Gear, Land Rover Live producer Matt Cooper offered Clarkson a role on the show.^[14]

References

External links

• Official website